MLB Power Rankings: Athletics stay in first, Braves begin to climb
For the third straight week, the A's are atop the Power Rankings, and for the second consecutive week, the Brewers follow right behind. The top-five is a close battle right now, as the Angels and Dodgers are separated by just one point at third and fourth place, respectively. The Tigers, meanwhile, have surged from eighth to fifth.
They're No. 1: Athletics. It was a relatively easy week but another successful one for Oakland, which went 4-1 and rebounded from a 10-1 loss to the Mets in its first game of the week to win its next four by scoring an average of seven runs per game. Now things get really interesting: The A’s open a three-game set in Detroit against the AL Central-leading Tigers on Monday, return home on Thursday for a four-game series with the AL East-leading Blue Jays and then play their Bay Area rivals for four straight games, with two games in Oakland and two in San Francisco. Eleven games in 11 days against three teams that enter this week tied or alone atop their respective divisions will be as difficult a gantlet as any club faces all year.
Cellar Dweller: Diamondbacks. There is something to look forward to this week for Arizona fans: They won’t have to watch the Diamondbacks play in person. Kirk Gibson’s crew is an inexplicable 15-30 at Chase Field this season, and after going 3-6 on their most recent homestand, the D-backs won two of three in San Diego to kickstart a three-city, nine-game road trip that continues this week with series in Pittsburgh and Atlanta. Arizona then has only three home games left before the All-Star break, and by the time it opens the unofficial second half in the desert on July 18, it could look very different. Several D-backs, including pitcher Brandon McCarthy and perhaps even general manager Kevin Towers, have been rumored to be looking at a change of address in the coming weeks.
Biggest Riser: Braves. A 6-1 week helped Atlanta move from No. 14 to No. 8 and, more importantly, back into first place in the NL East. Not that the club had fallen very far: The Braves haven't been more than two games out all season, but a four-game sweep of the Phillies – their first in Philadelphia in 50 years – allowed them to take a half-game lead heading into Monday. The most impressive part of the organization’s week, though, came from its Class A Lynchburg Hillcats, which tossed combined no-hitters on consecutive days.
Biggest Faller: Cardinals. The last seven days were as baffling for St. Louis as its season has been to date. The Cards scored 22 runs at Coors Field while taking two of three, then were held to four runs total while losing three of four in an NLCS rematch with the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Manager Mike Matheny will have the additional headache of filling out the NL All-Star roster this week, but his bigger task is getting his defending league champions righted now that their NL Central deficit has matched a season-high at 6 1/2 games.
A few words about the...
Giants: Three weeks ago, San Francisco was on top of our Power Rankings, with the most wins in baseball and an 8 1/2-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West. But as June turns to July, everything has fallen apart in for the Giants. After going a wretched 1-6 last week, including a four-game sweep by Cincinnati, San Francisco has blown its entire NL West advantage and has fallen out of the top-five in our rankings, landing at No. 6. Injuries, in particular Angel Pagan's balky back, have limited the offense, while the continued difficulties of Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum (no-hitter aside) are hampering the rotation. And in the bullpen, Sergio Romo's recent struggles (15 earned runs in his last 15 innings) has cost him the closer's job.
Mariners: Seattle may trail the Athletics by 7 1/2 games in the AL West, but it isn't fading away. The Mariners went 4-2 last week, picking up series wins against Boston and Cleveland, to improve to 17-10 in the month of June. No player has been more instrumental to that success than Seattle's longtime ace, Felix Hernandez, who is having arguably his greatest season. Hernandez's 2.10 ERA, 179 ERA+, 1.96 FIP, 9.6 strikeout-per-nine ratio, 1.5 walks-per-nine ratio and 6.23 strikeout-to-walk ratio are all career-highs, and he leads the American League in WHIP at 0.92 and the majors in innings pitched at 128 1/3. Last week, he threw an absolute gem against Cleveland, shutting out the Indians for eight innings on just one hit while striking out nine and walking three. The resulting Game Score of 86 was his best of the season.
Rangers: As one AL West team rises, another keeps falling. A 2-4 week dropped Texas to No. 24 in the rankings and leaves it a whopping 14 games back of Oakland in the AL West. Injuries have been the biggest reason for the Rangers' struggles this season, and the players brought in to replace the fallen simply haven't been up to the task. Season-ending ailments to Prince Fielder (herniated disc in his neck) and Mitch Moreland (left ankle) have forced Texas into a first-base rotation of Brad Snyder (82 OPS+ so far this season) and 36-year-old retread Carlos Pena, who was signed off the scrap heap on June 17. In the rotation, meanwhile, the likes of Colby Lewis (71 ERA+), Nick Martinez (87) and Joe Saunders (78) haven't picked up the slack for Matt Harrison, Derek Holland or Martin Perez.
1. Oakland Athletics
PREVIOUS: 1
RECORD: POINTS180
Low Vote: N/A
2. Milwaukee Brewers
PREVIOUS: 2
RECORD: POINTS172
Low Vote: 4th
3. Los Angeles Angels
PREVIOUS: 4
RECORD: POINTS164
Low Vote: 6th
4. Los Angeles Dodgers
PREVIOUS: 7
RECORD: POINTS163
Low Vote: 5th (2x)
5. Detroit Tigers
PREVIOUS: 8
RECORD: POINTS155
Low Vote: 9th
6. San Francisco Giants
PREVIOUS: 3
RECORD: POINTS149
Low Vote: 8th
7. Seattle Mariners
PREVIOUS: 11
RECORD: POINTS143
Low Vote: 8th (3x)
8. Atlanta Braves
PREVIOUS: 14
RECORD: POINTS133
Low Vote: 12th
9. Washington Nationals
PREVIOUS: 9
RECORD: POINTS131
Low Vote: 11th
10. Cincinnati Reds
PREVIOUS: 15
RECORD: POINTS128
Low Vote: 12th
11. Toronto Blue Jays
PREVIOUS: 6
RECORD: POINTS124
Low Vote: 12th
12. St. Louis Cardinals
PREVIOUS: 5
RECORD: POINTS118
Low Vote: 16th
13. Baltimore Orioles
PREVIOUS: 10
RECORD: POINTS104
Low Vote: 15th
14. Kansas City Royals
PREVIOUS: 12
RECORD: POINTS102
Low Vote: 16th
15. Pittsburgh Pirates
PREVIOUS: 16
RECORD: POINTS96
Low Vote: 18th
16. New York Yankees
PREVIOUS: 13
RECORD: POINTS93
Low Vote: 18th
17. Cleveland Indians
PREVIOUS: 18
RECORD: POINTS79
Low Vote: 19th (2x)
18. Miami Marlins
PREVIOUS: 17
RECORD: POINTS78
Low Vote: 20th
19. New York Mets
PREVIOUS: 21
RECORD: POINTS67
Low Vote: 22nd (2x)
20. Boston Red Sox
PREVIOUS: 20
RECORD: POINTS66
Low Vote: 23rd
21. Chicago White Sox
PREVIOUS: 24
RECORD: POINTS61
Low Vote: 26th
22. Minnesota Twins
PREVIOUS: 19
RECORD: POINTS51
Low Vote: 25th
23. Colorado Rockies
PREVIOUS: 22
RECORD: POINTS48
Low Vote: 28th
24. Texas Rangers
PREVIOUS: 23
RECORD: POINTS42
Low Vote: 25th (2x)
25. Chicago Cubs
PREVIOUS: 27
RECORD: POINTS36
Low Vote: 28th
26. Houston Astros
PREVIOUS: 26
RECORD: POINTS32
Low Vote: 27th
27. Tampa Bay Rays
PREVIOUS: 28
RECORD: POINTS29
Low Vote: 29th (2x)
28. San Diego Padres
PREVIOUS: 29
RECORD: POINTS18
Low Vote: 30th (2x)
29. Philadelphia Phillies
PREVIOUS: 25
RECORD: POINTS17
Low Vote: 30th (2x)
30. Arizona Diamondbacks
PREVIOUS: 30
RECORD: POINTS10
Low Vote: 30th (2x)
